Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been shot dead at an election rally – sparking riots across the country. The gunman then detonated a bomb, killing at least 15 of her supporters in Rawalpindi. Many more were injured in the suicide blast. At least four people have been shot dead in rioting as fears grow the nuclear-armed country will be plunged into civil war.

Bhutto…minutes before her death

In Karachi, capital of Ms Bhutto’s native Sindh province, thousands took to the streets, torching dozens of vehicles and buildings.

“There is trouble almost everywhere,” a senior police official said.

The killing came less than two weeks before elections many expected would return Ms Bhutto to power and restore democracy.

Nawaz Sharif, the leader of a rival opposition party, vowed revenge and said his party would boycott the January 8 poll.

He told crowds: “Benazir Bhutto was also my sister, and I will be with you to take the revenge for her death. Don’t feel alone. I am with you. We will take the revenge on the rulers.”